Dates Traveled: October-November 2002

Yangon

I caught the short 1-hour flight to Yangon, Myanmar. After passing through customs one is required to exchange US$200 for 200 FEC’s - Foreign Exchange Certificates. Basically it’s the military government’s way of getting hard currency, though most travelers opt to exchange less money and pay an extra US$5 as a ‘present’ to the person working the desk. That would become the major theme for my 4 weeks in country…..trying to keep the money in the hands of the locals and away from the government. The following day I wandered to a main park - Mahabandoola Gardens, where I was approached repeatedly to exchange US dollars for kyat - the local currency. Basically there are 3 currencies in use - dollars, FEC’s, and kyat. As it’s a black-market activity, one has to wander around a bit and play the ‘dealers’ off each other to obtain the best rate. One also has to take into consideration that the currency fluctuates drastically (from about 800-1100 kyat/dollar during my 4 weeks), you get better rates in Yangon than the rest of Myanmar, and the ‘official’ bank exchange rate is something ridiculous like 7 kyat/dollar.

My initial impressions of Myanmar - the men wore the longyi, which is basically a sarong sewn into a tube to form a long ‘dress’; most women have very long, black hair, which they wear in a bun - usually wrapped around a large comb; the women and children typically mixed thanukha wood and water to form a white paste, which they applied to their faces and arms to combat the sun. There seemed to be a sidewalk culture - particularly in the early evening, when people congregated at sidewalk tea stalls…..typically on plastic stools and tables standing no more than about 10-12 inches off the ground. They’d also set up blankets on the sidewalks in the early evenings to sell all manner of trinkets/junk.

I visited several pagodas, or Buddhist monuments, in Yangon. The Sule Paya (Pagoda) was near where I stayed and a good landmark and meeting area, but the most famous pagoda in all of Myanmar is the fabulous Shwedagon Paya. I must have spent about 4 hours simply wandering around the great monument, talking to monks, and sitting quietly - taking it all in. The entire compound is awash in gold color - gold plates, gold leaf, and gold paint. There are over 80 other buildings/temples around the main pagoda, which contain statues and other Buddhist articles. The main pagoda stands 100 meters high, has over 8000 gold plates covering it, and the top of the spire is encrusted with thousands of diamonds and other precious/semi-precious jewels. There are ornately constructed and covered walkways up to the pagoda level. In all, it’s probably the most amazing Buddhist monument I’ve ever seen.

Bago

From Yangon I caught a bus to Bago, and then employed a cycle rickshaw driver as a ‘guide’ for the day. I never do that, but figured he’d know how to get around the government-imposed entrance fees. I much preferred to pay him than the government, so it worked well. He took me to many sites - pagodas; temples; cheroot (cigar) factory where young girls rolled them by hand; weaving centers; and a monastery, where a young monk wanted to practice his English, so we talked for quite awhile. As I was leaving he gave me a present - a small book he was studying on Buddhism. The dedication he wrote stated, “May you be free from the round of rebirths and realize the truth”. Pretty heady stuff for a 25-year old monk, but the best part was something else I’d seen written on the title page. Thumbing through the book I’d noticed that, when he didn’t understand one of the English words, he’d looked it up in a dictionary and then written the definition above the text. However, that really doesn’t explain what was written on the title page, where it stated, “Call-girl…..prostitute who makes appointments by telephone”. Cracked me up. Believe he was truly studying to be a monk, as he’d been there 5 years, but in Myanmar, as in other SE Asia Buddhist countries, most young men spend at least a short amount of time studying at a monastery. That explained why I would later encounter ‘monks’ whose arms were completely covered in tattoos, monks smoking, and young monks shooting air rifles at balloon targets. Always caught my eye, as it was the unexpected.

Golden Rock

I next took a tiring trip to the Golden Rock - one of the most sacred pilgrimage sites in Myanmar. A day on overloaded buses and trucks - the norm in Myanmar…I often simply hung off the backs of trucks; an ascent as one of 50 people crammed in the back of a truck….on benches 5″ off the bed; and then a hike up the hill in a rainstorm and I was there. What is it? A small Buddhist monument perched atop a boulder covered in gold leaf, which hangs precariously on the edge of a cliff. If you’re heading to Myanmar, you can probably give it a miss.

As you can only get a 28-day visa - and can’t extend it, you find yourself doing very untraveler-like tasks in Myanmar……planning and organizing transportation ahead of time. Horrors! You may think you can squeeze many sites into your 28 days, but once in country you realize that you’re at the mercy of public transportation, and so you’ll have to pick-and-choose. I chose the Golden Rock, but in hindsight would opt for a short trek around the village of Kalaw, as I heard nothing but good reports from those that trekked.

Inle Lake Festival

It turns out there was a major festival on Inle Lake, so I headed that direction - passing back through Yangon and then taking a long 25 hour bus/truck trip to the small town of Nyaungshwe on the edge of the lake. The next morning at 5 AM I was in a small long-tail boat with 5 others to head out on the 22 km long lake for the day. It was fantastic to be on the lake that early to watch the sunrise. There was something magical about the sky/clouds in Myanmar, as the air seemed so clear - great for photographs. We proceeded to the far end of the lake where we joined the many other boats sitting along a watery ‘parade route’. This festival - Phaung Daw U, goes on for several weeks. As part of the celebration, four Buddha figures are transported aboard an ornate barge from one village to the next. The figures, which look more like gold snowmen due to all the small gold leaf squares that worshippers affix to the statues, typically spend one night in the village temple before being moved to the next village. A fifth figure always remains at Phaung Daw U monastery. The procession begins with several race boats, with approximately 50 standing rowers per side. The last three boats are very ornate, large, gilded affairs - one of which contains the statues. After witnessing the procession, and stopping in the village with the statues to see them up close and observe the celebration, we proceeded to boat around other villages of the lake.

Most interesting during the 13 hours on the lake that day was to observe what for the locals was normal life - homes built on stilts over the water, and villages where the streets are simply waterways, ensuring that all citizens are proficient in the use of small boats. The locals would stand at the rear of their small canoes, rowing by holding a long oar in their hands and wrapping one leg around the oar as well - propelling the boat by pulling back with the leg. They say this developed as boatmen need to stand in order to navigate through the floating vegetation of the lake. Needless to say the rowers of Inle Lake exhibited great balance. We also observed the gardens - typically for tomatoes. Patches of floating vegetation were staked to the lake bottom using long branches. Rows of these would be organized into a floating vegetable patch, and the harvest was loaded into small, wooden canoes to be transported to a land-based village. We also observed local fishermen - either with nets, or cone-shaped fish traps. Fish would swim into the large end, but because of the design and implementation of a type of one-way ‘gate’ in the trap, the fish couldn’t swim back out again. The entire day was a fascinating glimpse into another way of life.

After a day of relaxing around town, and a day of hiking the surrounding hills - learning much from our guide, it was time for the last day of the festival. Again, we were back in the boat and on the water early. The procession that day took the Buddha figures back to the main monastery of the region, where they’d remain until the following year. As it was the last day of the event, there were many more people on the water, with a carnival-like atmosphere. There were also boat races of the standing rowers - 50 per boat, which was fun. Around mid-afternoon we headed back to land, hung off the back of an overloaded truck to a road junction, and then caught a bus headed for Mandalay.

Mandalay

There was a broken-down vehicle blocking the road for a couple of hours, so the bus trip took about 12 1/2 hours in total. Mandalay was a good town, with some great sites nearby, but there seemed to be many more destitute people than I’d seen elsewhere in Myanmar - and many more beggars…..”Hello, money?” I wandered the outside of the fort (it costs to go to the palace inside, and it was built using forced labor, so I opted to skip it), and up the hill at sunset to take in the view across Mandalay. I spent one day taking in some of the ancient cities near Mandalay - namely Mingun and Sagaing.

Mingun is mostly known for it’s massive, unfinished pagoda. It stands 50 meters high, but was to be 150 meters upon completion. Each side is 72 meters in width. It was badly damaged in an earthquake, but one can still climb to the top for the view of the surrounding area. The pagoda is impressive - even in its unfinished state. There were other pagodas, a huge bell, and a Buddhist ‘infirmary’, but the entire experience was tainted by all the touts selling postcards, marionettes, hats, rides in ox carts, cold drinks, film, t-shirts…

Sagaing was essentially a lush green hill that was covered in all manner of pagodas - large, small, ornate, inornate, golden, whitewashed, etc. A magical view.

Hsipaw

We (was traveling with Lynn, a Canadian woman) decided to take a side trip from Mandalay, so took the 8 1/2 hour bus ride for the 130 kms/80 miles to Hsipaw. We spent a few days relaxing on the balcony of the guesthouse, taking hikes to the surrounding villages (and once again learning from a local more details about life in Myanmar than he’d have been comfortable sharing in town), and wandering the town/market. Best activity was to attend a movie - a truly local experience. Tickets ranged from $0.04 to $0.18…we opted for the 9 cent tickets. After people got settled into their hard, wooden, unforgiving and uncomfortable seats (and had given the requisite double-take in our direction), the screen came to life with karaoke songs - after all, this is SE Asia. At the designated time the movie started - thanks to a young kid with the remote to work the VCD system. We all stood for the national anthem and the propaganda, and then settled in for a truly laughable production. The film was a Burmese-language film shot in country. It was scratchy, the shooting shaky, the words/mouths didn’t work together, the actors were sweating, and you’d see flies in some of the scenes. The audience seemed to laugh hysterically at the slapstick comedy. In all, it was 2 hours well spent, as it gave us a glimpse into local life - both onscreen and in the theater. Fun.

Back in Mandalay

From Hsipaw we headed back to Mandalay - and witnessed the standard bribing of the traffic cops on several occasions along the way. This time in Mandalay we wandered around a few different markets, and then made our way to U Bein’s Bridge - at 1.2 kms in length, it is one of the longest teak spans in the world. And now you know. It was magical at sunset - beautiful sunset colors over the calm lake, fishermen in bamboo hats casting from the bridge, monks in burgundy robes walking along the span, and small canoes plying the waters around the pylons. Picture perfect.

That evening we took in a performance by The Moustache Brothers Comedy Troupe - traditional Burmese comedy and dancing. They are famous and beloved in Myanmar, but it was more for their history - and the hope for the future, that I attended. This family has been performing for over 30 years, but in 1996 a brother and cousin were arrested after telling jokes at a gathering held by pro-democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi - the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner who was held under house arrest from 1989-1995 (and who would be detained again from 2000 until May of 2002). The brother and cousin served 5 years and 7 months in prison and forced labor camps - often treated worse than the other prisoners. Since 1996 the comedy troupe is forbidden to perform outside Mandalay, so now they perform for tourists to spread the word to the international community regarding the conditions in Myanmar. The more they are in the spotlight, the less the government can do to harm them. They talked freely before and after the program about life in Myanmar, and their time in prison. They seem to believe in the optimism I’d been seeing throughout Myanmar - that democracy will eventually come to the country.

Pagodas of Bagan

Next was the very relaxing 11 hour boat trip to Bagan. The following day we rented bikes to cruise around some of the 2000+ pagodas, monasteries, and other religious buildings of Bagan. Climbing a stupa revealed a landscape teeming with pagodas, with the scene being particularly serene in the golden light of the setting sun. Most of the temples were built over a 230-year period starting in 1057. It was interesting to cycle around the different architectural styles from the various periods. Some were rather ornate, with many Buddha images; some contained only one large Buddha image; some had beautiful frescoes. In all, it was an incredible day just taking in the scale of the place - 40 square kms, with the highest temple soaring to 61 meters.

Mt. Popa

While in the area we also went out to Mt. Popa - the most important nat, or spirit, worship center in Myanmar. It is essentially a 737-meter high volcanic plug that rises from the surrounding plains, crowned by various temples.

Pathein

From Bagan it was a 16 1/2 hour bus ride to Yangon, an overnight there, and then 4 1/2 hours by bus to Pathein. While wandering the streets we encountered many more stares than normal - fewer westerners visit that region. We spent that day visiting a small parasol-making operation, and taking in the ambiance of the main pagoda after dark. We’d pass back through Pathein a few days later to see the extensive, varied market - a great market.

Beach at Chaungtha

From Pathein, three hours by bus took us to the beach community of Chaungtha. At one point we had to board a ferry across the river. On the trip from Yangon to Pathein we’d crossed a bridge over the Ayeyarwady (Irrawady) River that had only been in place for a few years. Hard to fathom countries where necessary bridges still don’t exist in the 21st century. Anyway, our few days at Chaungtha were spent relaxing on the beach, getting caught up in journals, wandering through the small community, and checking out the local beach transport - colorful ox carts.

Burma Is…

After retracing our route through Pathein and back to Yangon, it was time to leave Myanmar. I really enjoyed my time in Myanmar, which to me will always be: women/children with white, ground thanakha on their face and arms. Seems to actually be a form of free expression, with the various designs. Men in longyi’s; beautiful sky/clouds; one-legged rowers of Inle Lake; oily, bland food; and Burmese covers of popular songs. It’s short benches and stools; overloaded trucks and buses (may give India a run for their money in that department); cheroots; women with combs in their hair; right-hand drive vehicles driving on the right side of the road; and pagodas - lots and lots of pagodas. It’s an oppressive military government with an atrocious human rights record that doesn’t allow full internet access for fear of what the population will learn of/from the outside world; kidnaps children to indoctrinate them in the ways of the military; and sells out their monuments for money - turning religious sites into tourist sites. I suppose many countries do the same, with hawkers at the sites, but it seems worse here when you know the government is getting rich from it. One spends their time trying to avoid transportation and sites where the money goes to the government, which is a reason the locals like the independent travelers more than the package tourists. Package tours are generally run by the government tourist agency, and take internal flights run by the government airlines. They also like the fact that travelers get to the more remote regions that the package tourists never see.

It’s people reluctant to talk in public, as they’re afraid of repercussions, but willing to discuss anything in more remote surroundings, such as on hikes….they want the world to know what they’ve been going through. It’s the joke of the FEC, and nobody having change. It’s people paid so poorly that they have to do multiple jobs, or illegal black market activity, in order to provide for their families. Last, it’s the people - friendly, helpful, warm, inviting people. I often wondered how much of our world they’re actually aware of, with the limits on access to outside information. However, there seems to be an underlying optimism that things are going to change for the better soon. People are studying English and computers. In all, it was a beautiful place to visit.

There is a long-standing debate about whether or not a person should visit countries such as Myanmar. One side argues that, by going, you are in effect supporting the oppressive government. You spend money in country, and your mere presence states that you don’t have a problem with the manner in which they run their affairs. The other side states that you should visit, but to make a concerted effort to funnel your money to the locals and not the government. They believe the more people that witness the situation and talk to the locals about the life they’re forced to live, the better, as those people can return to their own countries and make others aware of the situation. Obviously I fall into the latter category, as I believe it’s always better to see things for myself. I’d asked a local the question point-blank while we were doing a short day-hike, and he said that, because travelers had recently started coming to that particular region, the government had stopped using forced labor in the area. That comment alone made me happy with my decision to visit Myanmar.